The Lost Sister 2
by RachelWillowK2446
Summary: Rachel is reunited with her brothers, and eventually becomes a member of the crew.
1. Return

_My paws beat against the ground like a drum. Tha-Dump. Tha-Dump. Claws bared, I leap as far as I could, grabbing my brother's shirt in my teeth and leap again._

My eyes burn from the smoke, and my heart beat hard, trying to escape the fear and adrenaline rushing through my entire body. Tail waving, ears pinned back, I yowl to the sky. Not this time. I wasn't gonna screw it up.

"Rachel!" The shout was distant, but familiar. Chris? Nope. I couldn't turn back. I knew the scent that I was following, and I wasn't veering off. Not yet.

A tree branch crashed in front of me, and I leap away, terrified. Flames filled my vision, crying drowned out the beating of my heart. Smoke choked me. I cough, veering away from yet another tree branch.

"Rachel, stop." Chris had raced after me, and tried to turn me away.

"NO! Our brother's out there!" I choke, shoving him onto his side and running off again.

"What?!" I ignore him, and follow the scent and the sound of sobs.

"Wha-?" A much smaller blond than I expected was sitting on the ground, trying to push a small tree off his leg. I help him, not caring who it really was, and get him onto my back. No way was I letting someone die just because I didn't know him. The scent, though. It was unmistakable! It should have been Martin... I shake the thoughts off, and the boy clutched my head fur tightly.

"I'll get you to safety, kid." I promise through gritted teeth. He leaned in to look at me sideways.

"You can talk..." He said. "My name's William, by the way, Cat." William... The name, the smell, the crying. It all came to me so suddenly. It was my brother's son! I had just gotten a second chance to prove myself to a parent, but not mine. I was _not_ going to let go of William now. Chris appears, and I tell him to help me.

"My older brother's still out there." William whimpered. "Will you two cats help?"

"You go with Chris, William. I'll get Jamie." I say, head-butting him towards Chris. Haring after the smell again, I suddenly get struck by something. A burning tree branch choked me out, and I feel my form slowly changing back to human. I was dying, I knew it.


	2. Why Not?

Rachel didn't come back. I paced around William, praying that she'd return. She didn't. Only Zach, who I nearly leaped at until he held up a necklace. Rachel's. I shook my head, standing between him and Will.

"Don't touch my nephew." I snarl, taking the necklace and running. Zach just stood there silently.

"Nephew?" William's blank stare was the last thing I remembered. I make it as far as Rachel's scent goes, and see a still figure trapped under a tree branch.

"NO!" I gasp, the necklace still hooked on my tooth. She had been so weakened by the tree that her transformation had reversed. "No." I say again, this time in a howl. I crumple next to her, sobbing. The flames around us got bigger, and then were killed by a new rain storm.

"Rachel." I sobbed.

* * *

"Where are they?" I paced back and forth in front of the kid, who sat on the ground nervously. He suddenly stood up, nearly scaring me off my own feet.

"Look!" A tiger's form was dragging itself towards us. It had a human on its back-no, two. A little kid, and-I gasped, and William ran towards Chris. He dropped, knocking Rachel and James off of his back. Rachel sprawled out on the ground, her breathing shallow.

"Jamie-is the cat okay? Where's the other one? Who's the pretty lady?" The younger kid flooded his brother with questions. The scene was familiar...

 _ **I held two-year-old Chris's shoulders, waiting for Rachel to come back. She did, coughing smoke and looking like she was going to collapse at any second. Martin was petrified, and I was glad his parents couldn't see Rachel's other form...they only saw him, running out of the forest terrorized by not only the fire but the tiger that had saved his life. When I handed his brother to him and went for Rachel, she turned around and fled. I called out for her, but all I heard was the crash of a dead tree branch and a horrified yelp.**_

 _ **"Oh, no." The only person I could go to was Lydia, my Dad was still at work. The older Kratt tried to comfort me, but inside I was vowing never to let myself be friends with another member of that family again. It was heartbreaking.**_

"Zach..." Chris coughed, shifting back to human. Leaping back, James gasped.

"Take the kids back to the HQ..." Chris stood up. "I'm staying with Rachel." There was a slash across his forehead on the left side of his head.

"No, you're not." I decided. "Take your nephews back yourself. I'll be right behind you. Like I was supposed to be all these years." Chris looked at me a bit shocked, but shakily walked over to the brothers and put a hand on their shoulders.

"C'mon, you two. Zach and the 'pretty lady' will be following us home." _Home_. I could see the dread in the Kratt brother's eyes. He didn't want to go back.

* * *

"Aviva, they'll be back. I promise." I shouldered Martin away, still keeping my head down.

" _No lo son. Usted lo sabe. Dejar de recibir mis esperanzas para arriba,_ Martin." I could see his shocked face without looking up. He said one thing in response.

" _Te lo prometo._ " That's when the HQ doors slammed open.

"Mama!" I sat up straight.


End file.
